FILM
"The Golden Compass"
A darker, deeper fantasy epic than the "Rings" trilogy, "The Chronicles of Narnia" or the Potter films, offering more complex villains and posing more intriguing questions. As a visual experience, superb. As an escapist fantasy, challenging. With gifted newcomer Dakota Blue Richards, a 12-year-old who won the role in competition with 10,000 others. Also starring Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott. Rated PG-13. Four stars. â€" Roger Ebert

[AMC Narrows Plaza 8: 2:30, 3:10, 5:05, 5:50, 8:05, 8:35; Century Olympia: 12:10, 1:05, 2, 2:55, 3:50, 4:50, 5:40, 6:35, 7;30, 8:25, 9:20, 10:10; Lakewood Cinema 15: 11:30 a.m., 12:30, 1:4, 2:15, 3:30, 4:30, 5, 6:45, 7:15, 7:45, 9:30, 10, 10:30; Lakewood Towne Center 12: 2, 2:45, 4:30, 5:15, 7, 7:45, 9:30, 10:15; Longston Place 14: noon, 12:30, 1, 2:40, 3:30, 4:25, 5:20, 7, 7:30, 8, 9:35, 10:10, 10:40; Regal Gig Harbor 3: 4:40, 7:20; Regal Martin Village 16: 11 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:30, 1:45, 2:15, 3:30, 4:30, 5, 6:45, 7:15, 7:45, 9:30, 10, 10:30; Yelm Cinemas @ Prairie Park: 11:40 a.m., 12:10, 2:05, 2:35, 4:30, 5, 7:05, 7:25, 9:30, 9:50]

MORE FILM: Playing on local screens.

MUSIC
Rockaraoke
If you give Tacoma a microphone it knows what to do with. That much is proven night in and night out at karaoke joints all over town. Now, give Tacoma a microphone and a live band, and you have Rockaraoke at Jazzbones every Monday night. Fun is always had by all, and booze is consumed at an alarming pace. The $1 High Life pints and $4 Jäger bombs might have something to do with it.  Fun. â€" Suzy Stump

[Jazzbones, 9 p.m., no cover, 2803 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.396.9169]

MORE MUSIC: In the clubs tonight.

Ken Swarner, co-publisher of this blog, as well as the Fort Lewis Ranger, Northwest Airlifter, Northwest Veteran, Fronteras and the world-famous Weekly Volcano, is featured in today's Soundlife section of the Trib.  Swarner had a couple stories accepted in the latest Chicken Soup for the Soul book: “Chicken Soup for the Working Mom’s Soul." â€" Brad Allen

Walking briskly through the cold Olympia night, past the tattoo shop, you take a turn inside.  The red glow attracts you. Le Tigre plays on the jukebox. A group of women, all big enough to thoroughly beat your ass, sit near a vending machine packed with American Spirits. Luckily, tonight their anger is focused toward Olympia’s City Council, which you can tell by their heated discussion. Behind the bar a sign reads “Prescriptions.” You order a drink. The hipsters beside you argue about Deerhoof. The jukebox goes from Le Tigre to The Beatles. You move toward the back of the room and tuck yourself between a group of Greeners talking Chomsky while playing half-ass shuffleboard and four or five haggard mechanics. In the distance someone name-drops Calvin Johnson.   
Ah, the Brotherhood. The Bro Ho. I love you so. Life in Olympia would be empty without you.

Tonight, the Brotherhood Lounge is throwing a birthday party for itself, and you’re invited. Spider and the Webs, The Vibrarians and DJ James will all take the stage, and free pizza will be brought in from Old School to fill your stomach. â€" Matt Driscoll

[The Brotherhood Lounge, 9 p.m., 21+, no cover, 119 Capitol Way N., Olympia, 360.352.4153]

I have witnessed a common food argument far too many times.  Which is better: Great steak or great sushi?

Don’t hurt yourself trying to think of the answer.  It hurts me and my tiny, little brain as well when I ponder that earth shattering question.  I like them both.  But for this week’s Dinner with DeRosa, we’re having sushi.

I’ve invited Bruce Lee, owner and sushi chef of Sapporo Sushi Roll & Teriyaki on Pacific Highway in Fife.  I’m a regular.  You know, they remember what I like, I sit in the same spot at the bar, and continue conversation about our families each time I return.  When asked if Lee met his wife in the states or in Japan, he confessed that he met her here.  He let me know though, that if he were in Japan when he was ready to get married he would’ve a better looking girl. Oh sheesh, dare I ask why? He says in Japan there are a lot more to choose from.  A Japanese girl here in the States, well, here we have some slim pickings.

Whatever.

What makes him oh-so sexy is the way he shows off his sword from his days of teaching Gumdo.  Rawr, baby.

I figure I want more pictures of my dinners and social gatherings, and unless I want to have the “MySpace self portrait” look in all of my pics; I’m going to need some photographers.  This is precisely why I am having Shawn McManus and his girlfriend, Erin, over for dinner.  They both take gorgeous photographs, you should check them out.  Another added bonus is that Shawn used to work at Black Water Cafe.  I could always use some old Black Water to keep on rolling.  I need for that Mississippi moon just to keep on shinin’ on me.  Gonna make everything, little momma gonna make everything alright.

Now just in case we can’t finish our sushi, or we feel the need to argue the steak/sushi debate on a totally different level, I’ve invited Jordann Hooft and her two Great Danes, Charley and Lola.  I normally wouldn’t allow such huge animals at my dinner table, but I’m thinking the extra coffee table space might help with the after dinner drinks.  Don’t worry, they’re good dogs.  She sleeps with them in the same bed.  No, really, she does.  I wonder if they spoon.

Most importantly, I’m asking Jenn and Jenna from the Sixth and Sprague Starbucks to join us. The other day, I was a having a shitty, shitty day.  The kind of nothing fits right, running late, hit every red light, forget your wallet at home, lock yourself out, step in dog shit kind of shitty day.  Although I was having my monthly shitty day kind of day, I still was able to converse with these two via Starbucks drive thru speaker.  By the time I reached the window they had decided that I was going to get my coffee for free, simply because I was having such a craptastic day.  THESE girls are my she-roes.  Free coffee and a nice smile will take you to my dinner table any ol’ time.

Oh, and I bet you have the Doobie Brothers in your head all day.  Heheheheheh. â€" Steph DeRosa

Gingerbread Men

Run, run as fast as you can, you can’t catch me I’m the Gingerbread Man!  I’m thinking this statement is true seeing as how I was only able to find a gingerbread man in two places out of the 15 or 20 I visited.

They build ‘em big at Wagner’s in Olympia. They’re crispy and gingery, too.  Just the way I like ‘em.  Well worth the trip, or if you just happen to want to stock up on gingerbread flavored pastries before you hit Chehalis where the end of the earth is and you can’t drive anymore.  Well, at least until they clear up that little puddle there on I-5.

Pioneer Bakery on Main Street in Puyallup also had some dark g ingerbread men for me to touch, handle, and taste.  These men were a little more on the softer side, but with equally as much taste as Wagner’s. 

So, I will line up the two men and let you be the judge as to which one is better.  Fair warning though: the one from Pioneer Bakery is faster.  But I caught him, don’t worry.  How else do you think he got that broken foot? â€" Steph DeRosa

MORE COOKIES: See what's already in our cookie jar.

THE SHOPPING
Duck The Malls
You don’t need a Cinnabon to have a positive shopping experience.  Hurrah!  Consider an alternative, if you will. Duck The Malls arts and crafts sale is a gathering place for Olympia punks, hippies, hipsters, youngsters, oldsters, artists, Weekly Volcano-sters, crafters and folks of all kinds as an antidote to everything that’s wrong with the hectic, antiseptic, fluorescent-lighted mall. Olympia artists have worked all year to present you with artistic gifts for the holidays.  Check it. â€" Suzy Stump

[Capitol Theater, Sunday, Dec. 9, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., no cover, 206 E. Fifth Ave., Olympia, 360.754.5378]

MUSIC
Friends of the Holidays
Today break with tradition and launch an electric alternative to straight-laced fund-raising affairs through Friends of the Holidays, a benefit concert that brings together music fans to help those in need. Why spend another long evening with society-page, black-tie socialites and sweater-clad Samaritans donating money and/or perishables to hear Josh Groban, Kenny G and an elegantly robed choir quietly perform Christmas standards? Your $10 suggested donation goes toward providing food for selected families and children who might otherwise go without.

The entrance fee includes performances by local loud-and-proud musicians in order, the Polly O’Keary Band, Billy Roy Danger & the Rectifiers, Rod Cook & Toast, the Kellee Bradley Band, Orozco, Bump Kitchen and the Randy Oxford Band.  An auction and raffle make it more interesting.

Now that’s entertainment!

[The Swiss Pub, 3-11 p.m., $10, 1904 S. Jefferson Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.2821]

POP
urbanXchange Xmas
urbanXchange hosts a free Christmas show today that I can get behind. Trans Union, Ghosts & Liars and Garage Voice will fill Tacoma’s hippest resale fashion store with perfect pop while cookies and candy canes dance in my stomach.

Trans Union’s passionate ’80s post-punk is wrapped in tight, melancholy ballads sporting a name tag that says Interpol’s Turn on the Bright Lights and drawings of Santa Morrissey plastered on the present.

Pull the draw string on Ghost & Liars and listen to some of the most well thought out pop music you’ve ever heard. Honey sweet melodies, radiator-warm cello line and candy canes are their trademarks.

Garage Voice heads down the chimney with emotionally significant, jazz-inspired rock loaded with pretty piano work.

It's free, too. Thank owner Julie Bennett for the early present. â€" Suzy Stump

[urbanXchange, 7 p.m., free, 1934 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.572.2280]

MORE MUSIC: In the clubs tonight.

I hit the new Western R Bar & Grill last night. It's not as scary as it use to be.

The Peninsula-based band Wheels cranked blues and rock hits of the past.  The band members switch trade instruments several times during the night.  Talented chaps.  One guy sounds like Tom Waits. The bongo conga player grooved like one of those Fembots from the Austin Powers flick.  Righteous dude! 

I noticed Bill Farmer moved his Thursday night open jam to the Western R.  I highly recommend it.

I will give my full report in the Drink of the Week column inside the next Weekly Volcano, which will hit the streets Thursday. â€" Brad Allen

[Western R Bar & Grill, 1214 Puyallup Ave., Tacoma, 253.627.6920]

THE DAILY WORD
Learn it, use it, spell it

brontephobia or brontophobia /bront-e-feu'-bia/ noun
Dread of thunder and lightening

USAGE EXAMPLE: And Mrs. Claus always chuckled softly through her nighttime elf-head mask whenever a big storm came up and Santa would rush into her bedroom all cute and breathless and quivery, Mr. Big Present Giver himself, suffering from brontephobia not to mention fear of bunnies and, for some reason, creamed corn, and would snuggle into bed with her, on her big bed of cookies and broken candy canes.

THE AFTERNOON NEWS

PIERCE COUNTY: Pump up the justice.

CHEHALIS: Flood update.

OLYMPIA: 10-year-old scores big money.

NEW YORK: When you don’t care to deliver the very best.

HUSTLER OF CULTURE
You can stand atop the mountain and scream your naked desires to the universe or shed that synapse epilepsy and hug the South Sound today with your fellow man:

MUSIC: Hell, there are too many good shows to just recommend one.  Check out the Weekly Volcano’s club calendar and choose one yourself.

Breakfast with Bobble Tiki runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.  Deal with it.

Malls, schmalls. Below you will find what we, your cherished Spew scribes, have on our holiday alternative shopping lists today. We've also included handy links to help you find your way. President Bush says shopping keeps us free, so who are we (or you?) to argue?

Holiday Trunk Sale
We love the holidays, but let’s face it: shopping at this time of year can suck. Snagging your nails in a catfight over a cashmere scarf, ruining your skin in the moisture-sucking mall air, and growing monster knots of tension just to cross each gift off your list makes for a stressful season. Enter Tempest Lounge, whose Holiday Trunk Show Saturday is a much-needed respite from the insanity. Seven local artists â€" Laura Towse, Jennevieve Schlemmer, Sara Woodward, Pam Sprowl, Kimberly Kay, Michelle Douglas, Brit-Simone Sutter and Marty Kneeland from Vinosus â€" offer their creations for holidays gifts (and get to keep 100 percent of their sales). Booze will be flowing so no kiddies. â€" Suzy Stump

[Tempest Lounge, Saturday, Dec. 8, 2-6 p.m., 913 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, 253.272.4904]

Holiday Glass Sale
There should be a connection here. Christmas, Christmas ornaments, glass, glassblowing. ... There really should be a connection here. Hhhmm. ... Hilltop Artists in Residence Tacoma hosts its annual Holiday Glass Sale Saturday (Christmas, creating healthy spirit for youth, glass?). Beginning at 7 a.m. the public picks numbered tickets for order of admittance (gifts early in the morning ... like Christmas?). But this sale is one day only, sooo. ... Come grab your new Christmas ornament or piece of art, or Christmas shop, if you just get inspired enough. There we go. Connection. â€" SS

[Jason Lee Middle School, Saturday, Dec. 8, 7 a.m. ticket distribution, 9 a.m. to noon sale, 602 N. Sprague, Tacoma, 571.7670]

Holiday alternative
Take one look around and you’ll see that most South Sounders go plumb crazy buying the latest fancy doodads and electronic gadgets as presents for their loved ones. Perhaps the question has crossed your mind: Can’t my family find a more meaningful way to celebrate Christmas?

Leave it to the fine folks at the Alternative Gift Fair to come up with a solution. The Alternative Gift Fair offers shoppers the chance to buy a gift in someone’s name from organizations that help train the homeless, help protect the environment, build homes for families and feed the hungry.

So do something truly good for others this Christmas season and visit the 20 organizations at The Olympia Center Saturday. â€" Michael Swan

[The Olympia Center, Saturday, Dec. 8, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., 222 Columbia St. N.W., Olympia, 360.754.5397]

THE FESTIVAL
Dickens Festival
Christmas shopping can be fun â€" especially when you dress up the shopping environment like a Victorian English town, make it feel authentic with roving, costumed entertainers, town criers and carolers, and fill it with beautiful handmade gift items and scrumptious food. You’ll get all that at the Dickens Festival at Stadium, a period-piece shopping experience in Tacoma’s Stadium District Saturday, Dec. 8. Dickens Festival at Stadium concludes at 5 p.m. with the Stadium Jazz Band performance inside the First Presbyterian School gym, then pop outside for the lighting and a few carols to watch the tree light up in Norton Park at Division and Tacoma Avenue at 5:30 p.m. â€" Michael Swan

[Stadium District, Saturday, Dec. 8, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tacoma Avenue and Division, Tacoma, dickensfestival.net]

THE EVENT
Historic holiday
Historic Fort Steilacoom Museum Association is staging its annual Christmas at the Fort event this weekend. Travel back in time to Fort Steilacoom as it once was. Tour the candle- and lantern-lit quarters of Lt. Col. Silas Casey and soldiers of the fort as they and guests engage in Christmas merry making, conversation of the time, tree trimming, dancing to the tunes of a fiddler, and caroling. Special activities for children include hands-on ornament making. The gift shop has a good stock of books, toys and souvenir items for your Christmas shopping. â€" Steve Dunkelberger

[Historic Fort Steilacoom, Saturday, 4-7:30 p.m., $3-$5, $10 for family, 9601 Steilacoom Blvd. S.W., Lakewood, 253.582.5838, www.fortsteilacoom.com]

STRING SWING
The Tune Stranglers
Comprised of Scuff Acuff (washboard, lead vocals), James Schneider (banjo), Eliza Welch (fiddle), Boom Boom “Sweets” Levine (bass), and Rich Sikorski (lead vocals, guitar, ukulele), the Olympia-based acoustic unit incorporates bluegrass, country swing and vintage string jazz. All very accomplished musicians, they placed first place at the Northwest String Summit in 2006. As a live act, the zany quintet creates a relaxed atmosphere and probably wouldn’t mind if you showed up to gig in your underwear or at least kicked your shoes off.  â€" Tony Engelhart

[Ben Moore’s Restaurant, 9 p.m., no cover, 112 W. Fourth, Olympia, 360.357.7527]

POP
Oh Voices
I recently discovered that Tacoma band Oh Voices sounds beautifully soothing and content like a cool breeze on a sunny afternoon. The music sounds like friends standing arm in arm around an old-timey piano and an acoustic guitar, grinning ear to ear and singing together in harmonizing voices. It makes you want to sing along â€" or maybe that’s just me.

The band states its influences as the Beach Boys, Randy Newman, The Carter Family, Gillian Welch, the Beatles, Panda Bear and Debussy. But the comparisons they’ve been accused of encompass pretty much anything with harmony and a sweet, simple melody. â€" Angela Jossy

[Origin 23 Coffee, with Allan Boothe and John Nichols, 8 p.m., no cover, 3518 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, 253.212.1503]

MORE MUSIC: In the clubs tonight.